Displaying items by tag: Distribution

Ireland/UK: Quinn Cement has extended its exclusive supply agreement for Master Grade Cement in the UK with National Buying Group (NBG). Quinn Cement’s Master Grade Cement product will continue to be solely available to merchants in the UK via NBG following a deal originally made in 2018.

“Our partnership with NBG has been very successful in 2018 with our Master Grade Cement sales in particular exceeding forecasts since we launched our new cement range. Feedback from NBG merchants has been very positive and demand continues to grow, so we’re delighted to agree an extension to our exclusivity deal with the Group,” said Quinn Cement’s GB Sales and Marketing Director Lee Gillman. He added that 2018 had been a ‘strong’ year for the cement producer.

US/Europe: US refractory manufacturer Plibrico has entered into a distribution partnership with the Pli Group Europe, a refractory distributor contractor based in Vienna, Austria. Under the new alliance, Pli Group Europe will provide full-service distribution of Plibrico’s Plico brand refractories in Austria, France, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia and Bulgaria, with immediate effect.

“Adding Pli Group Europe to our ranks of Pli Partners allows Plibrico to reinforce its expertise, enhance its service offering and strengthen the value chain offered to customers throughout Europe,” said Brad Taylor, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Plibrico.

Denmark: Aalborg Portland has signed a five-year cement transport deal with Demstrup Autotransport and Silo Trans following a tendering process. The deal covers the producer’s domestic cement distribution of over 1.25Mt/yr. This involves more than 33,000 movements per year. Demstrup Autotransport will be responsible for distribution in North and Central Jutland and Zealand. Silo Trans will handle distribution in Sønderjylland and in Funen.

UK: Tarmac plans to restructure the distribution model for its cement and lime division. Following a strategic review it will move to a regional model for both bulk and packed cement distribution, which have previously operated on a national basis. Tarmac’s own fleet operations will handle around 50% of bulk cement and 20% of packed cement distribution, supported by five regional distribution providers selected through a procurement process.

“Our supply chain and logistics operations are crucial to maintaining Tarmac Cement and Lime’s position as the UK’s market leader. The new regional transport operating model will provide enhanced resilience, flexibility, service, cost and safety for our customers, who trust us to deliver the products they need to realise major projects,” said Mike Eberlin, managing director at Tarmac Cement and Lime.

Tarmac Cement and Lime’s regional distribution partners will be engaged on new five-year logistics contracts effective from December 2018. They are Abbey Logistics (bulk cement – Scotland), Pollocks (packed cement – Scotland & North), Lomas Distribution (bulk and packed cement – Central), Wincanton (bulk and packed cement – South West), Stobarts (bulk and packed cement – South East) and Proctors (packed cement – Barnstone).

Tarmac’s Lime & Powders operation will remain fully subcontracted on a national basis to Lomas Distribution (bulk lime and powders and lime tippers) and RR Andrews (powder tipper operations).

There will be no change to customer order arrangements.

Sri Lanka: Tokyo Cement has launched resource-planning software across its business. The software was developed by Abas and implemented by Providence Global, according to the Daily News newspaper. The software is being deployed across all of Tokyo Cement’s operations, including its cement plant at Trincomalee, its ready-mix concrete plants, and its bulk cement import terminal and biomass power generation units. The new software is intended to fully integrate supply chain management and warehouse operations.

Canada: McInnis, formerly McInnis Cement, has released details about its distribution plan for the Atlantic provinces. The company has acquired two CRH Canada-owned terminals allowing it to access markets in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. McInnis says it will honour the orders of the clients supplied through those terminals and integrate their current employees. In addition, McInnis has entered into an agreement with CRH Canada and will supply cement for its terminals at Long Pond, Argentia and Corner Brook in Newfoundland directly from McInnis plant in Port-Daniel – Gascons. Deliveries to Newfoundland will begin in the autumn of 2017.

“With the addition of these terminals to our network, we are now able to secure a solid position in this market” said Hervé Mallet, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of McInnis Cement.

The McInnis distribution network includes several facilities: marine terminals in Providence, Rhode Island and Sainte-Catherine, Québec were the first to be built and commissioned. The Oshawa terminal in Ontario has started operation in September 2017. A railway transshipment station in New Richmond, Québec is also operational, and the Bronx marine terminal in New York will join the network in 2018.

Finland: Metso has signed a distribution agreement for its valve products with Process Control Equipment (PCE) to cover the UK, Benelux and Spain. Under the non-exclusive agreement, PCE will add to its current portfolio of Metso's Neles and Jamesbury product families for all process industries in all countries. PCE has been distributing Metso's Jamesbury valves in the UK since 2012.

"The new agreement brings benefits for Metso's customers in UK, Benelux and Spain to ensure better availability and service support for them. The expansion of distributors in these countries will bring additional value, including more local support, local inventories, and faster deliveries of our products," said Kyle Rayhill, Director of Global Distribution, Flow Control, Metso.

Italy: Metso has changed its distribution model in Italy in 2017, appointing three exclusive distributors to cover the country. Righini and Frantoparts FP will handle the exclusive distribution of all Metso stationary crushing and screening machines. Righini will cover the provinces of Valle d'Aosta, Piemonte and Liguria. Frantoparts will cover the remaining provinces. Scai will be the exclusive distributor of the mobile equipment for the whole of Italy.

"These three distributors are already our long-term partners with proven expertise and service capability. We are confident that they are the right partners for us for many years to come," said Angel Luis Garcia, Metso's Distribution Business Manager for Spain & Italy.

Uganda: Sandvik Construction has announced that Victoria Equipment is its new distributor in Uganda. Victoria Equipment will supply a range of Sandvik equipment, and provide aftermarket care, spare parts and customer service. The agreement was formalised in February 2016.

"The additional portfolio (of Sandvik equipment) will bring heavy duty equipment and technical expertise closer to our end user as opposed to flying in technicians from abroad," said Sam Kibuuka the Financial Director of General Machinery Group, the holding company for Victoria Equipment.

Sandvik Construction specialises in equipment, tools and service for the breaking, drilling and crushing niches in the construction industry. Application areas include tunnelling, quarrying, well drilling, civil engineering, dimensional stone, demolition and recycling.

Jamaica: Caribbean Cement Company (CCC) and Tank-Weld Metals have come to an agreement for Tank-Weld Metals to distribute locally-produced Carib Cement to the Jamaican market.

The companies said that, while the agreement is aimed at maximising the resources of both companies, it will also 'enhance efficiencies, create local jobs and be beneficial to customers, the travelling public and the environment.' The value of the deal was not shared. It is estimated, however, that through this partnership, CCC now has near 100% of the local market for cement.

The release further said that, to enhance efficiencies in a logistics-driven economy, both companies have identified an opportunity to pioneer domestic maritime transport of a locally manufactured product. Carib Cement will be transported by sea from the CCC Rockfort Pier to the TW Metals Rio Bueno Port in Trelawny for further distribution to the northern-based construction market using Tank-Weld's distribution capabilities.

The companies have said that the agreement will 'have social and environmental benefits as the use of maritime freight will see less wear and tear on the roads, less frustration for the travelling public and less pollution in the air, through the reduction in traversing across the island by road of bulky and heavy cargo.'

The companies also believe that this agreement will benefit the Jamaican consumer, as well as the local economy, as it increases domestic cement production, yielding greater production efficiencies, increasing the use of assets, boosting the local market and using more indigenous resources.